With the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announcing their newest ballot of nominees this morning, the music world is now engaging in its annual tradition of putting the Rock Hall on blast for snubbing iconic artists. Disappointment will always be prevalent; the Hall simply can't just induct every act at once, but 2019 should have been the year for metal. Three essential opportunities have been missed to ultimately legitimize the Rock Hall in the minds of metalheads — inducting Slayer, Pantera and Judas Priest. We can't pretend our community had faith the Rock Hall would do the right thing this year. Motorhead have continued to be overlooked for three years since the death of Lemmy Kilmister. Iron Maiden, who have sold over 100 million albums worldwide and continue to fill arenas, still receive the cold shoulder. Randy Rhoads isn’t in, Ronnie James Dio isn’t in… heavy metal simply isn’t respected by the Rock Hall brass. 2019 could have been a historic year for the Cleveland institution. With the death of Vinnie Paul in June, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should have nominated Pantera, who have been eligible for a decade. The heart and soul of Texas’ finest, Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, will never be present if Pantera get in, but honoring the Abbott brothers along with Philip Anselmo and Rex Brown would have brought the hardest metalheads to tears, maybe even turning them into Rock Hall believers. Secondly, Slayer should have been included with Def Leppard and Rage Against the Machine today. Having announced their retirement in early 2018 and a farewell tour that extends into 2019, Slayer’s induction couldn’t have happened at a better time. The Rock Hall had the opportunity to honor the thrash and extreme metal pioneers during their final year together, but it won't happen. Finally, 2019 marks Judas Priest’s 50th anniversary. Priest have sold over 50 million albums, won a Grammy, played the biggest stages on earth and influenced more metal bands than any other act in history, sans Black Sabbath. Beyond the band’s past, Priest’s 2018 full-length, Firepower, proves they’ve still got the goods to offer incredible tunes, even when guitarist Glenn Tipton was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease so severe, he had to retire from touring. What more is there to prove? Who is more worthy of a Rock Hall induction than Judas Priest? Nobody. Another year, another group of oversights for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This isn’t just our opinion, either. The metal community is making themselves heard on social media.